Revision as of 11:00, 4 January 2011

This is a draft document and is subject to change.

In June 2010, the Eclipse Board of Directors passed a resolution calling for the creation of a governance process for transparently allocating the Friends of Eclipse funds. This document describes the process for allocating those funds.

Contents

Background

The Eclipse Foundation receives donations from individuals through the Friends of Eclipse programme. Those donations are used to fund various activities undertaken by the Eclipse Foundation in support of the Eclipse community. Some portion of those funds are allocated for grants in direct or indirect support of Eclipse projects and community.

How Much Money is available?

The exact amount varies from year-to-year, dependent on the amount of donations received. The table below provides specifics.

How can the Money be used?

Funds can be used to support purchases and activities that benefit (directly or indirectly) the Eclipse community. Examples include:

Any allocation is subject to any restrictions defined by the Eclipse Bylaws, and Board Directives. For example, According to the Bylaws (section 11.4), we cannot fund member (includes committer member) work or travel expenses. We could, however, fund student work along the lines of the Summer of Code initiative.

Who Decides?

The elected Committer Directors (aka. "Committer Reps") decide how funds will be allocated on a quarterly basis. The exact dates are listed in the table below.

Dates and Amounts

Money is allocated mid-quarter. Note that we've just started this and timing is subject to change as we evolve our understanding of the community's needs.